Games Can Save Us from the Hell of Silicon Valley Optimization

From Post Games by Chris Plante

March 16, 2026 · 1h 26m · Episode 43

About this episode

This episode discusses how games can help us escape the pressures of optimization in Silicon Valley.

Want full show notes for free, including links to everything we mention? Visit www.post.games Get weekly bonus segments, video episodes, monthly exclusive episodes, and more at patreon.com/postgames for only $5 INCOGNI Deal: To get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan, go to incogni.com/postgames This week on Post Games: Act 1: Games Teach Us to Break Free from Life’s Grind Act 2: Metrics Suck the Joy Out of Life Patreon Bonus: Have Metrics Infested Video Games? Act 3: The News of the Week Guests: C. Thi Nguyen: a philosopher, educator, and author. His latest book is The Score: How to Stop Playing Somebody Else’s Game Gita Jackson: critic, editor, and co-founder of Aftermath Closing Song: “Ocarina of Time” by Sixth Station Trio ( Zelda Classics album) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

People in this episode

Host: Chris Plante

Guests: C. Thi Nguyen, Gita Jackson

Topics covered

game design
philosophy
Silicon Valley
metrics
video games
joy
news

Keywords

games
Silicon Valley
optimization
metrics
joy
video games
philosophy
C. Thi Nguyen
Gita Jackson

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Sixth Station Trio

Books & works: The Score: How to Stop Playing Somebody Else’s Game, Ocarina of Time